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Tale of the tooth

I started having toothache pain a few weeks ago, but since my last foray to the dentist resulted in a root canal followed by a root amputation, I loathed the idea of going back. I’ve always loathed going to the dentist. Besides, this was just a toothache. I wasn’t having the same problems I had before.

Plus, this time insurance coverage wasn’t going to be any help. So I took handfuls of Advil or whatever I could find and hoped the pain would go away. It did, kind of.

But here’s a lesson: anytime you have a toothache or tooth pain, you need to go to the dentist.

The pain came back, and one day (yes, I even did a news anchor shift with it) I was in blinding, excruciating pain. So I decided to bite the bullet (no pun intended… okay, pun intended) and get myself to a dental practitioner.

I should have gone sooner.

The bad news is the dentist said I’ll most likely need another root canal. But the good news is the pain was only caused by a broken old filling which had also caused some decay, but because I’d been taking really good care of my teeth the dentist thought that cleaning it out and putting in a new filling might delay the need for a root canal for a year or two.

I must give a high recommendation to Dr. Ian Hamel in Burbank. Not only did his office fit me in just one day after my first phone call, he decided to take care of everything during the first visit, without requiring repeat visits and all the dread that comes with it. The whole staff was super nice, and he worked quickly and all his explanations were simple and straightforward.

Plus, it turns out Dr. Hamel is a huge Bill Handel fan. So I pretended to like Handel too. (Just kidding, I love Bill Handel. He’s my god.)

And no, I wasn’t paid for my endorsement. For either of them.

Kids, brush and floss twice a day. But even if you do, sometimes you’re still going to get a toothache. That means get to a dentist. Don’t put it off.

Now I have to face the disapproving “Tsk tsk tsk, I told you so” from News Director Chris Little, who fulfills the role of “newsroom dad” and who told me from the very first day I should get to a dentist.